Thursday, December 24, 2009

Sunday, December 20, 2009

These photos are from our current snow storm in the Washington D.C. area. Librizzi doesn't get much snow, just a dusting every few years. I want to share and dedicate these snow photos with my Librizzi family and friends and my American family and friends as well.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I remember with great nostalgia the Christmas celebrations in Librizzi. They are of course, the memories of a child who grew up during the Second World War.

I remember that mom used to prepare traditional cookies and other specialties enjoyed at Christmas time. The traditional Librizzi sweets were the torrone, ‘panuzzi’, biscotti, pignolata, and ‘crispeddi’(crispelle). The torrone was a mixture of sugar, honey, orange zest, hazelnuts and almonds. The panuzzi were made with sweetened dough, shaped into ovals, and studded with toasted hazelnuts. The panuzzi were prepared for us children and for all of the young cousins. Traditionally, on Christmas day children visited all of their relatives who gave to them gifts of panuzzi, dried figs and other dried and fresh fruit, nuts, and small gifts.

Panuzzi

Torrone

The biscotti (soft cookies not the biscotti that Americans are familiar with) were made with a sweet dough similar to the one used to make the panuzzi. The dough was fashioned into intricate shapes such as circles, the letter S, pretzels, crescents, spirals, etc. Before baking the cookies they were decorated with jimmies, colored candies, nonpareils, ….

The preparation for the ‘crispeddi’ was a little complicated. The procedure began with a mixture of flour, yeast, salt and hot water, mixed for a long time with one’s hands until it became soft, almost a liquid dough. The mixture would then be allowed to rise for a long time, at least three hours. When the crispeddi maker (mother) determined that the dough was ready, the next phase began. Oil was placed in a deep fryer and allowed to boil to the proper temperatures, then spoonfuls of dough was dropped in the oil and cooked until it obtained a golden color. Some of the crispeddi were prepared plain and after they cooled down, they were topped with honey and or sugar. Other crispeddi were filled with small pieces of anchovies before they were dropped in the hot oil. My favorite crispeddi were the ones covered with honey and sugar.

Food photos by Carmelo Rifici

The special foods were only a small part of the Christmas celebrations because for the Librizzesi Christmas was primarily a religious holiday. Many days before Christmas Zampognari, shepherds, arrived in town and until Christmas day, in the wee hours of the morning, they would walk the streets of Librizzi to wake up people with the sounds of their cornamusa, bagpipes. Once arisen people went to church even before sunrise, to recite the Novena as part of the religious preparations for the arrival the Baby Jesus.

The Christmas Eve Mass was a special event. The church was decorated with oranges, mandarins, lemons, and the leaves and branches of the trees that bore these fruit (remember this is Sicily where citrus fruit grows in abundandce). I still remember the delicious fragrances of those delightful Christmas vigils in church. The Presepe, or Nativity Scene, was the most important decoration in the church, children were allowed to go up to the Presepe to admire the statue of the Baby Jesus. Many Librizzesi erected Presepi in their own homes, they would recreate imaginary towns with waterfalls, snow, stars, shepherds, …. I remember them as true artistic creations.

A few people put up Christmas trees and these were of interest and curiosity to most people, because Christmas trees were unusual and strange in those times. The people who put up the trees had visited or lived in the United States and then returned to Librizzi.

I keep up some of the Christmas customs of my childhood. Each year I put up a large Presepe, I prepare the cookies, panuzzi, and torrone. And of course, I also put up a Christmas tree, prepare American style cookies and other popular goodies, I have a large collection of Santa Clauses, and another large collection of Angels. I try to remember the true reason for the celebration of Christmas, even though we live in a materialistic and secular world where Christmas seems to be an excuse to get as many gifts as possible. It seems to me that the values of our ancestors should not be forgotten or belittled. May there always be:

“PEACE ON EARTH AND GOOD WILL TO MEN”.

Small section of my Presepe

Della Robbia

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

RECIPES:

1.Pignolata (another name for this dessert is Strufoli).

·3 large eggs

·1 tablespoon butter, softened

·1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

·2 cups all-purpose flour

·1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·1 cup honey

·Vegetable oil for deep-frying

·Colored sprinkles

Whisk together eggs, butter, and the 1 teaspoon of sugar, whisk until frothy. Stir in the baking powder and the flour. When well combined, with your hands work the mixture into a soft dough.

When the dough is ready, divide it into 4 pieces. Lightly flour a work surface, and roll each of the four pieces into a rope about the width of an index finger. Cut the ropes into 1" pieces. In a deep fryer, heat oil to 375° Place a few pieces of dough at a time in the hot oil, fry the strufoli until they are golden brown. They will puff up as they fry. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain. Let excess oil drip back into fryer before putting strufoli on paper towels. Combine honey and 1/2 cup sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves into the honey. Turn heat to very low, just enough to keep warm. Add the drained strufoli, a few at a time, and turn them with a wooden spoon to coat on all sides. Transfer strufoli to a large platter and mound them into a pyramid. Sprinkle with the colored sprinkles, (pine nuts may also be added) and let stand for 1 to 2 hours. They will adhere to each other. Break off pieces to eat.

2.Aunt Grazia hazelnut ‘cookies’:

Roast and then finely chop about two pounds of filbert nuts. Add a cup of sugar and mix. Add about 90 grams of Perugina Cacao (if using regular cacao, add some vanilla). Add about half a cup, or less, of strong coffee and mix. Take about a spoonful of the mixture and roll into small ball, then coat with sugar. Eat and enjoy. The ‘cookies’ can be kept for about a week in a tightly sealed container.

3.Torrone:

Two and a half cups granulated sugar

Two and a half cups almonds, toasted and slightly chopped

Two and a half cups hazelnuts toasted and slightly chopped

One quarter cup honey

Dissolve the sugar with the honey in saucepan and add the almonds and hazelnuts. Cook for 5-10 minutes over slow heat to allow the flavors to blend. Pour on a slab of oiled marble (I use a well oiled cookie pan), spread it out with a spatula and cut into short lengths. When the nougat (torrone) is cold, place it in an air tight container. Place wax paper between single layers of torrone pieces. The torrone will keep for a few weeks, provided you do not eat it within hours of making it!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Hello. You have added your name to my blog. Could you please tell me if you are connected to the Librizzi Muscara and how?
There are two lines of Muscarà in Librizzi, they are NOT related.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Recently I read a historical fiction titled “Mistress of the Art of Death” by Ariana Franklin. It is a medieval mystery featuring Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar or as one of the characters in the book says “Dr. Trotula, if you prefer, which is a title conferred on women professors in the school”. The school that conferred Adelia the title of Dr. Trotula is the Scuola Medica Salernitana.

Intrigued by the idea of a woman doctor practicing medicine in the 11th century, I decided to do a little research. I am going to share the information gleaned from my research, hopefully you will find it interesting.

Salerno, a city in the region of Campania in Southern Italy has its origins in the IV century B.C., when it was an Etruscan center. Later it became a Samnite territory, where in 197 B.C. the Romans founded the Colony of Salemum (later called Salerno). After the Roman period Salerno passed from one ruling entity to another acquiring a multicultural identity.

Sometime in the IX Century the Scuola Medica Salernitana was founded in Salerno. According to traditional lore the Scuola was founded by four teachers, an Arab, a Jew, a Latino, and a Greek. They taught in their respective languages. The School was the first University of Medicine in the Western World, and throughout the Middle Ages the University and the many local hospitals enjoyed an enormously prestigious reputation. It was at this center of learning where future doctors studied and where renowned doctors treated their patients. The city of Salerno earned the title of Hippocratica Civitas, a title still used today as part of the city’s Coat of Arms.

In 1076 Salerno became the Norman Capital (think Crusades) but in 1127 the Norman Capital was moved to Palermo. Salerno however remained one of the more important cities in the Kingdom of Sicily. The Kingdom of Sicily was founded by Roger II in 1130 and lasted until 1861. The Kingdom consisted of the Island of Sicily and all of the southern part of the mainland up to the Vatican States, south of Rome. Salerno began to lose its importance under the French and Spanish rulers.

In 1231 Frederick II (“stupor mundi”) as king of Sicily, officially recognized the University of Salerno and forbade the practice of medicine and the teaching of medicine within his dominion without a Royal License. The License was conferred after exams administered by the King’s Court and by the Masters of the University of Salerno. Later The Edict of Salerno, instituted by Frederick II, legally mandated separation of the profession of physician and that of apothecary.

Granted that the Scuola Medica Salernitana holds the distinction of being the first Medical School in the Western world, and that it certainly was the most prestigious center of education during the 10th through the 13th century, but for me the most interesting fact about the Scuola is that in the Middle Ages WOMEN were trained as PHYSICIANS and were also PROFESSORS of medicine at this renown university.These women doctors are historically known as “mulieres Salernitanae”. Of these ‘mulieres’ Trotula was the first woman doctor, considered the world’s first gynecologist, and the most famous.

It is believed that Trotula De Ruggiero was born in the 11th Century in Salerno where she lived, became a doctor, practiced medicine, and trained other doctors. Her husband was the doctor Giovanni Plateario, they had two sons whose names were Giovanni and Matteo, also doctors. Trotula, known in her own day as ‘magistra mulier sapiens’, was not only a smart and strong woman but, reportedly, she was also a beautiful and fascinating woman of her times! Supposedly when she died in 1097, there was a funeral procession three kilometers long. Trotula was such a legendary and idealized figure of the Middle Ages that in later centuries men refused to believe that she actually existed.

Trotula was the author of many medical works, one of which was “Passionibus Mulierum Curandorum (The Diseases of Women), also known as Trotula Major. The book, consisting of 63 chapters, deals with women health issues and diseases, and their treatments. Another of her works was “De Aegritudinum Curatione” or “De Ornatu Mulierum”, also known as Trotula Minor. Trotula’s literary work was used to train physicians for many centuries.

One of Trotula’s opinions was that both men and women could be responsible for infertility, a courageous stance for her times! She also believed that women should not suffer unrelenting pain during childbirth and advocated the use of opiates to dull the labor pains. Of course this also contradicted the opinion of those times that women should suffer pain of childbirth to atone for the sins of Eve. Trotula was an early advocate of balanced diet, regular exercise, cleanliness, and a low stress lifestyle.

Trotula’s fame went beyond Salerno and Italy, as seen in the accounts of well known personages including Geoffrey Chaucer. In the famous “Canterbury Tales” Chaucer refers to Trotula as “DAME TROT”! (According to the sources read by me, Dame Trot is found in the “Wife of Bath Tale”. It has been many years since I read the Tales, as soon as possible I will be re-reading the Bath Tale and hopefully I will find Trot).

The following quote is from tan article written by Jackie Rosenhek on the website
http://www.doctorsreview.com/node/57

“But nearly a millennia before these fine society ladies were trading med-school war stories over tea and crumpets, one amazing woman was blazing a trail toward equality. A woman who -- if not for the sharp mind and winsome ways which earned her the respect of her patients and male colleagues alike -- would almost certainly have been condemned as a witch. Trotula was her name and illuminating the Dark Ages was her game.”

Around 1840 in honor of Trotula a bronze medal was coined in Naples. It can be found in the Museo Provinciale di Salerno.